Beside
by LouTheStarSpeaker
Summary: Sometimes there are things you can't avoid or escape, no matter how badly you want to, and you just grit your teeth and learn to be okay with "never the same again." But if Destiny is being especially cruel, sometimes you watch from the sidelines as a brother grits his teeth, and hope that being beside him is enough to get him through. - Episode Tag to S2 Ep5 "Child's Play"
1. Chapter 1

Hi, guys! Lou, here, and you don't know me, because this is the first story I've ever written for this fandom! I'm so excited to be branching out, and because I've been watching Ninjago for literally the past ten years, it feels a bit like coming home. The nostalgia factor is _there_, people!

This came about after rewatching "Child's Play" and realizing anew that Lloyd's "growth spurt" is something that should have had way more impact on him as a character, so I went for realism here. I hope you enjoy!

Every Wish,  
~Lou

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Beside

The night Lloyd defeated the Grundle, they'd returned to the Bounty with their heads spinning, trying their best to process every crazy thing that had happened to them that day, then inevitably collapsing into bed so they could try again tomorrow.

Only Kai's brain hadn't really gotten the message, and kept churning up dreams with too many man-eating monsters and tiny, bite-sized ninja for him to get any semblance of sleep.

He should've just taken that Nighty-Night Tea like everyone else when Sensei'd offered it to them earlier. Hopefully, there was some still left on the stove. Kai _really_ didn't feel like reliving being hunted by a prehistoric death machine every time he closed his eyes.

He crept out of the guys' room, ninja skills to the max as he passed by Nya's room and then Lloyd's, aka the lightest sleepers he ever met. But at Sensei's door he hesitated for a moment- did he hear something?- before stopping in his tracks, his heart clenching painfully. Yes, he definitely heard it that time.

It was Lloyd, crying- sobbing really- and Sensei's voice speaking softly.

Kai stood there for a full minute in silence, wrestling between a wild, barely suppressed anger at Grundles and Garmadon and Destiny itself, and the engraved instinct to go in there and _fix this, somehow._

But Kai didn't attempt to wage war on an omnipotent force, nor did he burst into Sensei's room and drag Lloyd into a hug. Instead he walked away, towards the kitchen and the tea, even quieter than before.

This was different from when Kai and Nya had been on their own, he wasn't responsible for fixing every problem his younger sibling had, no matter how much it felt like he _should_. Lloyd had the other guys too, and Nya even, and he had Sensei Wu, who was probably much better at this anyway.

Kai sighed as he entered the kitchen, padding over to the stove and giving the kettle a quick shake. There was enough in there, but it'd gotten cold. He turned on the stove, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter while he waited for it to reheat. He'd stood in this exact position a couple hours earlier, only then he'd been surrounded by his friends and his Sensei.

"Help him adjust." Sensei Wu had said after he'd sent Lloyd to bed, like the child he was but didn't look like.

It was a request that felt as impossible now as it did then. What was normal when you didn't even know how many candles belonged on your birthday cake anymore?

When Kai had… changed, his body hadn't felt like his anymore. His skin felt stretched too tight and his thoughts felt like someone else's. Getting used to it hadn't even been on the table for him. He'd wanted it _gone_.

But that wasn't an option for Lloyd, because whatever idiot had created Tomorrow's Tea in the first place (looking at _you_, Mystaké), hadn't had the two brain cells it took to realize that _Yesterday's_ Tea might be helpful too.

The kettle was fizzing, about to boil, and the sound got under Kai's skin. He switched off the gas with an angry turn of the knob and more force than he needed. What could any of them really even _do? _

Kai tore a hand through his hair, glaring at the tea kettle as it quieted, then sighed and deflated. He could make Lloyd a cup of tea.

Kai poured in more water and turned the kettle on again. The tea would be a little weak with the extra water, but there was no way Kai was about to go snooping through Sensei's tea cabinet after what happened today.

After the kettle whistled and Kai poured the cups, he moved quietly back down the halls, intent on leaving Lloyd's in his bedroom. But as he was coming up on Sensei's room, the door creaked open and Lloyd wandered out, pace slow and posture weary.

He was wearing some of Jay's old pajamas. They fit him pretty well, but the geeky science pun on the t-shirt made it pretty obvious it wasn't his. Apart from the green gi, which had always been too big, none of Lloyd's clothes fit him anymore.

"Uh- Kai!" He stammered, startling at the sight of him. "I, um, what- what are you doing up?"

"Just… couldn't sleep." Kai said, pretending he was as surprised to see Lloyd as Lloyd was to see him. Also pretending he didn't notice how puffy Lloyds's eyes were. Kai gestured vaguely with the cups in his hand. "I made tea. You want some?"

Lloyd relaxed a bit, taking the offered cup. "Yeah, thanks."

The two walked together down the hall, but when they reached their respective bedrooms, Kai wasn't surprised to see Lloyd hesitate outside his door.

This wasn't the kind of night Kai wanted to be alone on either. He caught Lloyd's eye, and gestured with his head towards his own room. Lloyd smiled at the wordless invitation, following gratefully.

Kai's bed was on the top bunk, and it was a bit of a balancing act to scramble up there with boiling tea, but they managed, spilling only a little.

"I'll clean it up in the morning." Kai offered, only a little reluctantly. The least he could do is not leave Lloyd to clean up a mess the morning after what had to be one of the worst days of his life.

They sat sideways on the bed, their backs against the wall and tea cups in their laps. Lloyd had tried to stretch his legs out, but folded them back in when he realized they were too long. Just this morning they hadn't been.

The two sipped tentatively at their tea. Kai had forgotten to bring the spoons and it was taking forever to cool.

"So, were you just gonna drink both?" Lloyd asked suddenly, looking up at Kai.

Kai's eyebrows scrunched together. "Both cups of tea?"

"Yeah, I mean, you looked surprised to see me earlier. Why'd you made two if you didn't know I was awake?"

Kai fumbled a bit, grasping for an answer that wouldn't embarrass Lloyd. He doubted the kid would want him to know _exactly_ why he was in his uncle's room. Not that it should've mattered. When you got aged up four-ish years you were allowed to cry about it.

"Well I, uh, I knew you didn't have any tea earlier either, you know when Sensei offered. Since I wasn't sleeping I figured you weren't either. I just thought you'd be in your own room."

Lloyd nodded slowly, sighing. "I needed to talk to Uncle Wu, about, well-" He gestured vaguely at everything, which was kind of an understatement. FSM, today had been a mess.

"I get it." Kai said, turning his head from the floating steam and looking directly at Lloyd. "No expects you to shrug everything off, you know."

Lloyd stared at his tea, looking sadder than Kai had ever remembered seeing him, blowing at it and watching the surface ripple. "Yeah."

That irrational anger at the world welled up in Kai again. He wished there was something he could _do._

Lloyd was someone he would run through fire for, powers or not. But there were no snakes or skeletons to smack down, no evil dark lord to protect him from. This wasn't something Kai could fight, and there were no reassurances for a situation like this, no "it'll be okay, I've been through it too."

What was happening to Lloyd was unprecedented, and something told Kai that with a prophecy hanging over all their heads this would only be the first time. He could only be there, and hope that was enough.

Huh. Be there…

"Hey… " Kai said slowly, an idea taking shape. "Hey, what if we moved you in here?"

"Huh?" Lloyd looked up confused, as if Kai'd been talking about a different "here". "Like, sleep in here?"

"Yeah, all the ninja in one room? It'd be cool!"

Lloyd smiled at the idea, but glanced around skeptically. "Where would you even _put_ me?"

Kai looked around. The kid had a point, with four already it was a little tight, but… "There's room for a twin bed right there," He said, pointing to the only empty corner. "And if we shove over some of Cole's clothes we could make room in the closet for you."

Lloyd gaped at him. "Really? You're serious?"

Kai grinned at the look on his face. "Well, I mean, we can buy him some boxes or something for the rest of his stuff if it doesn't all fit." He joked, bumping Lloyd's shoulder with his. When he was still met with Lloyd's disbelieving stare Kai nodded, confirming once and for all. "Yes, Lloyd, I'm serious."

The kid's face split into a grin so wide Kai wondered why he hadn't thought of this ages ago.

"_Cool._"

They chatted about room plans, Lloyd going on about Starfarer posters and his collection of comics, saying that the guys needed to personalize. Which, admittedly, wasn't wrong.

Paint colors were brought up once, and neither of them had to tell the other that if they brought it up to the others Lloyd wouldn't survive to the final battle.

"We could share?" Kai suggested maturely. It was just him and the pipsqueak, Kai could be mature.

But Lloyd shot down that idea with the simple fact that their two colors on their _own _would make their room look like a reject Christmas party, never mind the others'.

After a while, the conversation dwindled off into silence, the tea, weak though it was, taking affect. Lloyd's head fell onto Kai's shoulder, the drained teacup falling from his fingers. It wasn't long before Kai followed suit, his cheek coming to rest against blonde hair.

_/Ninjago/_

Lloyd was gone before Kai woke up the next morning. This alone was not a substantial fact; it was late, and everyone else was gone too. But along with Lloyd, had gone the teacups, and even the spill on the floor. There was no evidence he'd been there at all.

Kai wasn't sure why, but he'd expected something to be different. So far, the only new thing he'd discovered was the crick in his back from sleeping weird.

That was, until he opened the closet door, and smiled

Cole's clothes were pushed to one side, and all of the hand-me-downs they'd given to Lloyd hung beside them.


	2. Bonus Ending

So the main story (last chapter) actually came about because I was feeling poetic and watching Ninjago and wrote the short little section below. And then I was like "Oh my gosh, I really like this! Now I need to write a story surrounding it!" So I spent the day writing the story from last chapter, got to the end, was really excited to put the two pieces together, and then was like "...it doesn't really _fit._" And so stubborn me tried for a little while to make it work anyway, before finally admitting defeat... *sighs* Writerly Problems^TM

Anyway long story short, here's the little piece of work that started it all but eventually got booted from the main story...Such is life... Hope you enjoy anyway though! ~Lou

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After that first night, Kai never caught Lloyd crying again, and he wasn't sure if it was because Lloyd had stopped all together or if he'd just gotten better at hiding it. Neither of those options seemed particularly healthy to him, but if it was the first, he hoped it was because they were doing something right.

Since then, Kai had… shifted a bit. He kept a closer eye on Lloyd, helped him try to figure out his… growth spurt… as best he could. He wasn't the only one, either. Where Lloyd was concerned, the same change was in the others too.

It was there in the way Cole reached out to steady him when he tripped over his too long legs, the nod he gave after Lloyd thanked him saying "always."

In the way Zane worked through the same forms with him again and again, patiently helping him relearn what he already knew.

In the way Jay so casually slung an arm around his shoulders, letting him know that no matter what had happened to him, he was _normal_.

With simple gestures and actions they said over and over and over,

"_I'm right behind you."_

"_I have faith in you."_

"_You're one of us."_

Kai wasn't exactly sure what his own gestures were saying, but he had a feeling it was something like, "_I'm on your side."_

Because when a kid like Lloyd saves your life with nothing but a bag of tea and a comic book quote… Well, that's someone you never stop standing next to.


End file.
